


Warriors, A Prince, and The Boy In The Iceberg

by vulcanhighblood



Series: You Rise With The Moon; I Rise With The Sun [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: 100 Year War (Avatar TV), Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Bigotry & Prejudice, Firebender Kakashi, Gen, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Pre-Relationship, Waterbender Iruka, airbender naruto, firebender sasuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29713287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vulcanhighblood/pseuds/vulcanhighblood
Summary: Iruka always knew the Fire Nation would come for Naruto one day. He'd just hoped it wouldn't come this soon.It had been three long years for the men on his ship, but if the boy really was the Avatar, then Prince Sasuke, Kakashi, and their crew would finally be able to gohome.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Series: You Rise With The Moon; I Rise With The Sun [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2183697
Comments: 7
Kudos: 66
Collections: Naruto AU Week 2021





	Warriors, A Prince, and The Boy In The Iceberg

**Author's Note:**

> For Naruto AU Week Day 6: _Avatar: The Last Airbender_

Iruka felt his heart sink when he saw the ash mixed with snow begin falling from the sky. 

He’d known it was too much to hope that the secret of the boy in the iceberg - Naruto - could be kept hidden for long. A year was more than he had dared hope for, and he tried to be grateful for what he had been given. But Naruto was still so young, and his enemies were cruel and numerous. He was just one boy! A very valuable boy. Especially to the Fire Nation.

Iruka already knew the village wouldn’t protect Naruto. They’d made that very clear on the day Iruka had brought him back to the village, when his fishing expedition (technically an attempt at waterbending training, though he’d not been forthcoming about that point) had turned up more than he’d bargained for. The village elders had demanded the boy leave immediately - they’d already lost all of their benders (excluding Iruka), to Fire Nation raids. Keeping someone like Naruto would only be asking for trouble from the very Fire Nation Naval Fleets that had long since decimated the pride and culture of the Water Tribes of the South Pole. 

Despite knowing this, Iruka had refused to budge on the issue. He had no parents, no siblings, and he could not stand the idea of losing anyone else. Rather than turn the boy aside, Iruka chose to accept the danger he posed, declaring the boy  _ tribe.  _ Not even the village elders could argue with the sacred tradition of taking in a stranger and making them family, as much as they might have wanted to do just that. Tribe was everything in the southern water tribe - but just because Naruto was  _ tribe _ did not mean the villagers had to like the strange airbender who had come to live among them, nor were they obligated to appreciate the danger and uncertainty he brought with him. Gazing up at the black snow with a frown, Iruka allowed himself to dwell on his true concern. He wasn’t worried that the village would hand Naruto over without a fight. After all, he was still  _ tribe, _ and Iruka was certain that fact was enough for the village to put up at least a token resistance _. _

The real problem he saw was with Naruto himself. The airbender truly loved his adopted village, despite the way he was treated by most. He would gladly sacrifice himself for the good of this shabby, broken, declining village, and Iruka could not allow him to do such a thing. So when he saw the black snow begin to fall, he began to prepare for the trouble it heralded. He may be the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, but Naruto was the last airbender in the entire world. He wasn’t going to let the boy go without a fight. 

When he made his way across the village to collect Naruto, Iruka was of a mind to find a way to hide him, take him far away before the Fire Nation arrived and Naruto realized what was happening. If he could just get him  _ away _ from the village _ , _ the boy wouldn’t make the foolish choice to sacrifice himself.

As Iruka approached, he could see that distracting the boy was going to be a challenge, as Naruto was already gazing at the sky with suspicion.

“Something weird is going on, Iruka,” Naruto said, cupping his hands around a handful of snow and lifting it to show Iruka the black flecks resting in the pile. “See? The snow’s gone rotten, or something.”

Iruka fought the urge to scream, and instead tried to force a smile across his numb face. “Huh, weird. It’s probably nothing. Wanna go find some berries?”   
  
Naruto glanced up at Iruka with a slight frown. “...why?” he asked, suspicious of the rapid change of subject.

Iruka sighed. For all his carefree spirit, Naruto was always good at reading people, and he’d sensed Iruka’s tension despite the effort to hide it. “Don’t ask questions,” he said, scooping up the young boy and tucking him under one arm. “Let’s just go.”

“Iruka!” Naruto wiggled, his arms and legs wobbly like thinly sliced whale-shark meat. “Put me down!”

Ignoring the boy, Iruka began marching back across the village, planning to leave without another word. He’d nearly made it out when their village elder, Sarutobi Biwako, stepped in front of him, a solemn look in her eyes. “Iruka,” she said, her old voice as firm and unyielding as the thick hides that protected their homes and hearths from the antarctic winds. “Where are you going?”

Iruka lifted his chin, staring back at Biwako, drawing the still-squirming Naruto a bit closer to his side as he replied. “We are going berry picking. Half a day’s walk from here.”

Biwako stared back at him for a long moment, the black snow drifting down between them. “They’ll be here before you return,” she said. “Who knows how long they will stay.”

“I’m a warrior of this tribe,” Iruka replied sharply, though in truth he’d never done his ice-dodging trial, and now there were no warriors left in the village to provide the opportunity. They were too busy fighting the Fire Nation to come back for one boy, even one who was now nearly-a-man. “I know how to survive.”

Biwako narrowed her eyes before replying, “I hope so. For both your sakes.”

Naruto had ceased his wiggling, glancing between Iruka and Biwako with a look of confusion. He seemed to want to ask what was happening, but Iruka didn’t give him the chance. He already had his bag of supplies. It would have to be enough for him and Naruto to survive until the Fire Nation ships left.

Now he just had to get them out of the village, before -

“Hey Granny!” Naruto called from Iruka’s side, “Do you know why the snow falling is black?”

Iruka shot a sharp look at Biwako, but she was never one to mince words, and she certainly didn’t care if Naruto knew the truth or not. 

“The black snow falls when Fire Navy ships are nearing our shores,” she said. “They’ll probably be here within the hour. It’s too bad our only warrior will be… mysteriously absent.” She leveled a sharp look at Iruka, but he just glared back at her.

He’d given a lot to this village, but he wasn’t going to give up Naruto for them. If they’d been willing to hide Naruto themselves, maybe they’d  _ have _ a warrior to defend the village. As it stood, he-

“Iruka!” Naruto was wiggling again, “Iruka, the Fire Nation is coming? We gotta help!”

“No, Naruto,” Iruka said sharply, “We’re  _ leaving. _ That’s how we can help.”

“But Granny can’t fight a bunch of Fire Nation soldiers by herself!” Naruto protested. “We gotta help!”

Iruka lost his grip on the wiggling preteen, and Naruto tumbled to the ground, popping back up and dusting off his anorak before declaring, “We’re not leaving! We’re going to stay and help defend the village!”

Iruka sighed, shoulders slumping at the tone in Naruto’s voice. He knew that tone, and it was one that allowed absolutely no argument. There would be no getting through to him, no convincing him to  _ just this once _ think of himself first. The boy was determined to protect the village, which meant only one thing. Iruka sighed, grabbing Naruto’s hand and turning to march for his tent with a scowl. It was time to prepare for battle.

* * *

Kakashi stood at the prow of the  _ Wani, _ the small ship to which he’d assigned himself when he had first set off on this fool’s mission three long years ago. Beside him stood Sasuke, next in line to the throne of the Fire Nation, eager to prove himself and return to the side of his father, the sitting Fire Lord. Kakashi wasn’t sure the Fire Nation would be safe for Sasuke even if they were to succeed in their mission, not after the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of Sasuke’s older brother, Itachi, had thrown the court into an upheaval. The court these days was full of intrigue and malice, and Kakashi wanted to keep the boy from it as long as possible. Sasuke, unfortunately, did not share Kakashi’s distaste for the homeland’s politics, and fumed more with each day that passed without news regarding the whereabouts of the elusive Avatar.

“How do you know the airbender is even in the South Pole?” Sasuke demanded sullenly, dragging his feet along the steel deck to stand beside Kakashi, glaring balefully out at the snowy ice shelves spread out before them. For not the last time, Kakashi was grateful for his breath of fire, the heat of his inner flame keeping him warm despite the chill wind whipping across the deck. Sasuke was still struggling to maintain his own breath of fire, and the way his voice shook slightly when he spoke proved that his core temperature was dropping. Kakashi considered reminding the boy, but figured some lessons just had to be learned the hard way. Now that he was thinking about it, he realized that  _ most _ of Sasuke’s lessons had to be learned the hard way. Pity, that. 

“We don’t know for sure that it’s an airbender,” Kakashi reminded him. “We heard word of a mysterious bender appearing in the region inhabited by the Southern Water Tribe. It could be an airbender, like the Kiyoshi traders speculated. Or it could be an untrained waterbender plucking at the ice crystals floating in the air.” He swept a hand through the air, catching some of the falling snow with his gesture, and heating the air surrounding his skin to evaporate the tiny ice crystals. “Any bender with enough imagination and creativity could feasibly imitate another bending style. That’s why it’s important to have knowledge of all bending styles.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, clearly not processing what Kakashi was trying to teach him. Which wasn’t a new phenomenon, but it was starting to get on Kakashi’s nerves. He’d left his life, his career, his passions behind, to care for and guide the young Fire Nation prince, and the thanks he got was a moody pre-teen who hated to learn. This was probably penance for his own terrible behavior as a child. Internally, he sent up a prayer of apology to Agni, asking the sun to pass the message along to his fallen father in the spirit world.

As the ship drew nearer, it was easy to spot the Southern Water Tribe’s paltry village, a sad collection of hide tents and fires that barely seemed to eke an existence off the wretched ice that stretched out beyond them as far as the eye could see. 

Beside Kakashi, Sasuke shivered violently, scowling up at his sensei. “Why aren’t you cold?” 

“Heat, like fire, comes from the breath,” Kakashi reminded him. 

Sasuke’s scowl deepened at this, but a moment later small licks of flame escaped his mouth when he breathed. He hadn’t quite mastered the art of subtlety yet, but what preteen boy would seek subtlety? He’d learn to do better with time. 

“Sir!” Helmsman Tenzo jogged over, dipping into a respectful bow, his hands making the sign of a flame, “We are nearing the ice sheets.”

“This ship is designed to break through, is it not?” Kakashi asked.

“Yes, sir, but if we advance too far, the ice shelf may become unstable for our troops,” Tenzo explained.

Kakashi considered. “Advance as far as you believe is wise. We’ll disembark from there.”

“Yes, sir,” the Helmsman bowed again before retreating to the navigation deck. 

Moments later, a crunching sound filled the air as their reinforced hull met the first layers of ice. Behind them, Engineer Gai marched up with an almost wild expression. “My rival!” he exclaimed, clapping Kakashi on the shoulder. “We have nearly reached the Southern Water Tribe Outpost!”

Kakashi turned to Gai with a sigh. “I have at least  _ one _ good eye, Gai,” he said dryly, “I can see that much.”

“What are you doing on deck?” Sasuke demanded, “Shouldn’t you be in the boiler room?” 

Gai waved off the young Fire Prince’s concern. “The ship is in capable hands, Prince Sasuke.”

Kakashi grunted. “It had better be,” he mumbled.

Gai gave him a disappointed look before turning to eye the icy landscape before them. “Will you be using the Komodo-Rhinos for this away team?”

Kakashi snorted in amusement at the very idea of bringing such temperamental beasts into harsh sub-zero weather conditions. “I want the Komodo-Rhinos to  _ survive  _ this expedition, Gai.”

“I see! Well then, have you readied the troops for departure?” Gai asked, a little too excitedly for someone who did not typically accompany their away teams. 

“Gai. I’m not approving shore leave in the South Pole,” Kakashi said, beginning to sense the man’s real reason for coming above deck. 

The large man’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, confirming Kakashi’s suspicions. “Very well, sir,” he said with a sigh, turning and slinking back across the deck, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like “extreme weather training” and “no time for challenges anymore” 

Sasuke watched him go with a critical gaze. “I’ll get suited up for our departure,” he said, turning away from the pitiful sight to glance expectantly at his mentor. 

Kakashi nodded. It was time he did the same.

* * *

Iruka had finished applying his war paint and had readied himself at the front of the village, holding his club aloft, standing tall on the (admittedly weak) wall that surrounded their village, staring down the massive ship that bit into the ice like the frozen terrain was nothing but a minor inconvenience. 

Heart pounding in his chest, Iruka stared at the same dark shape as those that would forever fill his nightmares. It was the shape of  _ the ships, _ the ones that had brought the horrible armored firebenders to their village, clad in black and red armor with ghostly, skeletal plates that hid even their faces from view. Ships that had brought the soldiers who had killed his parents, decimated his tribe, stolen their legacy, their hope, their  _ benders. _ He had always feared the ships would one day come for him, too. And now they had, albeit indirectly.

Iruka refused to be cowed by the massive shape looming before him, standing his ground as the metal monster tore up the ice between them, chewing it up like a tiger seal devoured its prey. Eventually though, he  _ did _ have to move out of the way as the ship plowed through the wall he’d worked so hard to build before shuddering to a halt mere steps away from the village tents. Swallowing hard, Iruka picked himself up and gripped his club harder. He would  _ not _ allow these invaders to pass. He  _ couldn’t, _ there were no more warriors here! Only a monk raised to be a pacifist and old women and children too young to defend themselves!

A loud hiss escaped the metal structure, a wide gangplank dropping to reveal an entire platoon of armored Fire Nation soldiers marching down the gangplank. 

Iruka fixed his eyes on the man at the front of the procession, filled his lungs, and launched himself forward with a wordless shout. Club aloft, Iruka charged forward, only for the man to shift his weight,  _ kicking _ the club with such force that it flew from Iruka’s hands. Momentarily stunned, Iruka had no chance to react before the man repeated his strike, this time using the force of his kick to heave Iruka off the side of the gangplank, planting him in the snow. Iruka’s breath left him in a huff, and he struggled to his feet, his air coming in whistling gasps as he pawed at the side of his head, ears ringing from the force of the collision of foot-to-skull. He spied his club several feet away and decided to leave it, turning around in time to see the same man who had kicked him now standing in the center of the circle of huts, sounding almost bored as he demanded to see Naruto. “We heard word of an Airbender living among you,” the man said in a loud voice. “We have no desire to inconvenience you further. Give us the boy and we will leave.”

“No!” Iruka shouted, fumbling for his boomerang and squinting against the double-vision to which that spectacular kick had reduced his usually impeccable eyesight. “You can’t have him!” He threw his boomerang at what was  _ probably _ the real soldier, though double vision made that a far less likely chance than he preferred. The man turned to him, and Iruka let out a sharp “eep!” as he scrambled to avoid the blast of flame that came in retaliation for the attempted attack. He was so busy flinching from the heat he barely had time to notice the color - blue - and wonder at what that might mean.

“We’re not here for a fight,” the man said wearily, turning away from Iruka, who was once more facedown on the ice. At least his spear was nearby, Iruka noticed, reaching out three times before his addled mind managed to find the  _ real _ spear and not the duplicates. His head ached, but he didn’t have  _ time _ to think about that, drawing himself upright and pointing the spear at the soldier who seemed to be acting as the representative of his ship.

Gritting his teeth, Iruka charged again. This time, the man spun, using an arm strike to completely separate the head of the spear from the rest of it. He grabbed the spear, jabbing the butt of it against Iruka’s head  _ twice more, _ which was just unfair, his head was  _ already _ addled enough. When Iruka lost his grip on the shaft of the spear, the man tugged it away and easily snapped it in two - wasting a solid week’s worth of trapping, cleaning, carving, and crafting in a matter of seconds. He tossed the two useless halves of the spear aside with an exasperated sigh. “I won’t ask again,” he barked, glancing around the villagers, who had come out of their huts just in time to witness Iruka’s abysmal failure to protect them. As if in answer to his threat, Iruja’s boomerang came whipping back around, colliding with the man’s helmet with a loud _ clang _ , sending it spinning. The man tugged off his helmet, a cold fury in his gaze as he rounded on Iruka, blue flames dancing in his palms as he turned.

“Iruka!” Naruto cried, stumbling out of the small crowd of onlookers to crouch beside him, clutching at his anorak and trying to shake him despite their difference in size. “Stop it! What if you get hurt?”

As if coming back to himself, the firebender shook his head sharply, the blue flames in his palms dying away. He stared at the two of them, eyes sharp and calculating.

Iruka patted Naruto’s head as he struggled to remain upright after the  _ multiple _ head injuries, careful not to remove the hood pulled over the boy, as it currently hid the most obvious of Naruto’s airbender tattoos. “It’s okay,” he said, hoping he wasn’t actually swaying on his feet and it was just vertigo that made it  _ feel _ like he was unsteady. His face felt oddly numb where the heavy leather boot had met it, and his forehead throbbed from the butt of the spear. “Go back to the others.”

But Naruto had never been the sort of child to walk away when others were at risk. It was part of why Iruka loved him so much. It was also why Iruka wasn’t surprised when Naruto refused to listen, instead squaring his shoulders and marching forward, throwing back his hood as he did, coming to a stop an arm’s span from the Fire Nation soldier, staring up at the blue fire-wielding bender before him. “I’m the airbender,” he said solemnly. “If I come with you, will you promise to leave these people alone?”

“No!” Iruka cried, stumbling forward, dropping to his knees beside the boy and wrapping his arms around him, gazing up at the harsh, uncompromising stare of the firebender that bore into him. “I won’t let you take him!”

The man snorted derisively, glancing first at the small group of women, children, and elderly that made up the last of his tribe, then looking at his own platoon of heavily armed soldiers, before turning to Iruka. “I fail to see what makes you think you have any say in this.”

Iruka tightened his arms around Naruto. He’d already lost his family once. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing it again. “Please,” he said, hating the weakness in his voice, the desperation so sharp it tore painfully at his throat. “He’s all I have left…” 

The man with the blue fire stared back at Iruka dispassionately. “That’s none of my concern.” 

Naruto patted Iruka’s head in an approximation of the gesture Iruka always used towards him. “It’s okay, Iruka,” he said, a hint of a tremble catching his voice under the false bravado. “I’ll be fine.” 

Iruka squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m not letting you go,” he whispered, clutching the boy tightly. “Not alone.” Reopening his eyes, Iruka met the cold stare of the man who wielded blue fire. “Take me with you,” he said. “He’s not leaving without me.”

One of the armed men shifted slightly.“Sir…” he said, sounding exasperated, “We can just kill the savage and take the boy.”

Iruka froze in place. Unbidden, the screams of his parents echoed in his ears as he forgot to breathe, until the man with the blue fire waved a hand. 

“There’s no need for that,” he decided, turning on his heel and beginning to walk away. “Bring them both aboard.”

**Author's Note:**

> I meant this to be a one-and-done sort of deal, but as I kept writing I realized that this poor tale was not going to be neatly wrapped up in a single oneshot. So I stopped trying, and instead decided this would be the first in a number of oneshots under the umbrella of a new series I'm in the middle of plotting out, titled _"You Rise With The Moon; I Rise With The Sun"._ I hope you stick around for the continued adventures of "Iruka, a secret and untrained waterbender stuck in the middle of the politics of the Fire Nation with Kakashi, who's not sure what to do with this Southern Bumpkin who refused to stay behind (with a small side of possible SasuNaru if I decide to go that route)"!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I'm so grateful for Naruto AU Week, as this series would not have been born without the inspiration of the prompt. Sorry it took so long to write. I'm very excited to see where it goes from here. :)


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